church-history
Historical studies on the development of Christian doctrine, early church writings, councils, and controversies.
Irenaeus, Isa. 7:14, Jeconiah’s Curse & OT Corruptions Paid Members Public
In this post I will share what St. Irenaeus wrote in respect to the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, which speaks of the Virgin giving birth to Immanuel. Irenaeus exposes the willful mistranslation of the Hebrew into Greek by two converts named Theodotion and Aquila, and appeals to the ancient
Early Church & the Punctuation of John 1:3-4 Paid Members Public
I cite a slew of ante-Nicene fathers, apologists and/or theologians in regards to the way they explained and punctuated John 1:3-4. The references will prove that none of them understood or interpreted these verses to mean that Christ as the Word was creature whom God brought into being.
No Sola Fide in the Early Church Paid Members Public
I cite what the late renowned Protestant scholar Philip Schaff admitted in respect to Luther’s doctrine of sola fide, or of forensic justification where Luther claimed a person was declared (not made) just/righteous by faith in Christ alone, being virtually unknown in the early Church. All emphasis will
Esdras & The Early Church: A Response to William Webster Paid Members Public
by John Betts Introduction William Webster, a popular Evangelical Protestant apologist, has written a book on the formation of the Canon of Scripture. Together with his online material on this subject, he essentially recycles many of the arguments Protestants and Catholics have had for centuries on this. Webster seems to
A 2nd Response to William Webster on Esdras Paid Members Public
By John Betts Protestant apologist William Webster has finally responded to the article I wrote in 2004, entitled Esdras & The Early Church: A Response to William Webster. Yet unfortunately this ‘response’ is essentially a re-posting of his original material that fails to substantiate his assertions and repeatedly misrepresents or
The Holy Eucharist In the Early Church Paid Members Public
The following excerpt is taken from the late Christian historian Jaroslav Pelikan’s book, The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Vol. 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600), published by University of Chicago Press in 1975, pp.166-171. All emphasis will be mine. The same
St. Augustine, Trinity & Filioque Pt. 2 Paid Members Public
The following is taken from St. Augustine’s On the Trinity Book 5 (V). All emphasis will be mine. Chapter 8.— Whatever is Spoken of God According to Substance, is Spoken of Each Person Severally, and Together of the Trinity Itself. One Essence in God, and Three, in Greek, Hypostases,
ICONS IN THE EARLY CHURCH Paid Members Public
In this post I will cite some 2nd–4th Christian references testifying to the usage and veneration of sacred icons and images such as crosses. All emphasis will be mine. TERTULLIAN Chapter 16 For, like some others, you are under the delusion that our god is an ass’s head.